Danika Witch Project
by 2SummerSolstice9
Summary: Danika Evans is a member of the fifth founding family of Ipswich making her the first Daughter on record. When strange things start happening & the founding families are threatened it will take all the combined efforts of the Children of Ipswitch to save the day.
1. Chapter 1

**All right so this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction so hopefully all goes well! This is how Covenant would have gone in my opinion had the Sons of Ipswitch had to worry about a Daughter as well. As much as it pains me to say it I don't own the rights to Covenant only to my character. **

It was a late fall night as three mysterious boys stood looking over a cliff. One had darker features & a serious look on his face identifying him as the leader of the little group. The one to his left had long, roguish hair while the one to his right had a distinctively younger air about him. At the bottom of the cliff there was a party which was one could vaguely see outlined by lit tiki torches. It was a back to school event for all students at Spencer Academy, one that the boys had every intention of attending. Rustling noises from behind them announced another presence. The fourth & final boy of the group was the only blond & was wearing his signature smirk. With all four of them there the leader turned to the newest arrival.

"Well, did you talk to her? Is she coming?"

The blond nodded. "Already on her way here as we speak. Sir, Caleb, sir," he added with a sarcastic salute. Caleb scoffed but let the comment slide.

All of them now looked back at the party with added excitement. Once again the serious brunette spoke. "Okay looks like everyone is here so let's go. It's a long walk down from here but if we leave now we should be there in twenty min-"

"Twenty minutes my ass," the blond interrupted rudely. "I know a way that will only take five. Question is, are you too much of a pussy?"

Concentrating, his eyes completely black as he stepped off the cliff side. Caleb rushed to the edge, anger evident in his eyes.

"Reid!" he called after the blond. But it was too late; he had jumped & was probably already at the bottom of the cliff by now. The younger boy from earlier, Tyler, brushed past him next.

"Yeah come on Caleb, what's the worst that could happen?" he questioned before following Reid. To add his own flare he even jumped off backwards.

"Tyler!"

Caleb was beyond livid at this point, his breathing hard & his nostrils flaring. The last remaining boy, the one with the long hair, patted his shoulders in reassurance as he too went to the edge.

"Don't worry about it Caleb. It's not like it's gonna kill us. Yet," Pogue added with a grim smile.

Now Caleb was the last man standing. Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm himself down as he thought about what he was going to do. His mother would kill if she found out but what she didn't know couldn't hurt her, right? Relaxing his tight shoulders, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again moments later, they were pitch black signifying his use of magic. With one step he went tumbling down the cliff after his covenant brothers. The air was cool as it whipped around his face, the scenery rapidly blurring by. Moments later he landed on the ground with a soft thud & all the graces of a cat. Slowly coming out of his crouch, he saw the rest of the boys moving towards him. Seeing the smug grin on Reid's face, he gave into his childish impulses & shoved the blond. Hard.

"Hey man, what the hell!"

Immediately he retaliated shoving Caleb back making sure to add some magical push into it causing Caleb to slide back a few feet. Feeling Reid use his powers against him only increased Caleb's anger. What started out as a tussle looked like it would quickly escalate into a full blown fight. The other two boys, not wanting it to come to that, grabbed their friends from behind to hold them back. Pogue voiced his concerns hoping to stop Caleb & Reid from being stupid.

"Come on guys, you really want to do this right before we go & see her? You know that she hates it when we fight."

As soon as her name was mentioned the two aggressors settled down & reluctantly agreed to play nice with one another for the rest of the night. Brushing themselves off they shook hands on it before heading to the party which was directly to their left. Falling into rank they formed a straight line, showing a united front. Claeb & Reid took the middle positions as Tyler & Pogue fell to either side of them. That line formation was how they presented themselves to the rest of the students at Spencer as they quickly made their way to a small group of girls at the back of the gathering.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Danika Evans put away her cell phone as her friend Kate parked her car in the idle of the woods. Everyone at Spencer knew of the annual back-to-school party. Not sponsored by the school, it was a secret get together that the seniors threw every September. Even though it was hard to navigate through the think trees, the fact that it was behind the school officials backs always drew large crowds and this year was looking to be no different. But this year was special _not only_ because she was a senior but because it was also her first time coming to one of these things.

As a shy, highly reserved individual, she didn't get out that much. Her friends were shocked when she announced that she would be attending this year to say the least. Which was probably why Reid had bothered to cal just now; the boys obviously thought that she was going to back out.

Well she would show them! In fact she could see the huge bonfire right through the trees. _But_ she would admit that it was kind of sweet of them to check up on her. Even if it was in a we-don't-trust-you-to-show type of way.

Walking past the tree line Kate, Danika, & Katie's new roommate, Sarah, claimed a spot to stand next to by one of the many bonfires that littered the secluded beach. Kate & Sarah offered to go get them all drinks. It would also give Kate a chance to show the new girl around. "Just get me water please!" she called after the girls. She sighed & looked around waiting for the boys. While it was a nice idea on Kate's part to take Sarah with her, it currently left Danika by herself to wait for the boys.

She and the boys had always been close, their families being descendents of the original Ipswitch covenant. Back in colonial times officials mistakenly thought that all the witch lines had been killed off. Luckily for her they couldn't have been more wrong. And everyone in her generation though that magic was the stuff of fairytales. That assumption made living both easier and harder for the group. True, she didn't have to worry about someone calling a witch hunt on her head but they all had to be extremely careful not to use in front someone else.

It wasn't exactly difficult for her but Caleb was always on the boys-namely Reid. Speaking of which, she could make out the outlines of the Sons as they neared her. Closing the distance between them she ran to give Caleb a tight hug.

"Hey Danika," they all said in unison.

Letting go of him she looked to the rest of the boys.

"See? Told you I would come."

Pogue reached forward to mess up her hair. "Never said that you wouldn't Dani."

She quickly slapped his hand away while trying to groom her hair back into its loose curls. Hopefully it wasn't too damaged-it had taken her an hour to do.

By this time Kate and Sarah had returned with the drinks. Looking in her cup suspiciously she was satisfied when she found it was just water. As a dancer she wasn't really supposed to drink; that and the fact that the taste of alcohol had never appealed to her. Thankful that Kate had gotten her what she wanted - this time anyway - she took a few sips. It might have been a cool fall night but that didn't mean that she wasn't thirsty.

"So who's the new girl?" asked Reid with his signature smirk.

"Oops. Sorry everyone," Kate spoke, "this is Sarah my new roommate for the year." Next she pointed at the boys one by one. "This is Pogue Parry, Tyler Simms, Re-"

"Reid Garrow," he suddenly interrupted placing a chaste kiss on Sarah's hand. "You know," he said straightening up, "you remind me of my grandma."

Everyone chuckled and even Danika cracked a smile. It was so like Reid trying to impress a girl but not quite being as smooth as he thought he was. Caleb interrupted then saving Reid from further embarrassment.

"Caleb Danvers," he introduced, sticking his hand out politely. "And for the record you remind me nothing of _my_ grandmother." He looked at Reid when he said this and was met with a hostile smile from the blond.

Everyone laughed to Reid's embarrassment. Suddenly Kate had an idea. "Hey what are we doing just standing here? Come on, let's dance." She latched onto Pogue pulling him towards the throng of dancing teens. Sarah and Caleb quickly followed while Danika, Reid, and Tyler hung back.

"Are you sure you don't want to dance with us?"

Danika rolled her eyes. It was so like the younger warlocks thinking that they were irresistible to the female population. Besides there were too many people here for her to feel comfortable. "Yeah, I'm sure now go have fun," she retorted, shooing them towards the dance area. With a shrug they left looking for the next available chick. She snorted at them and went to go get more water.

Seeing water bottles sitting in a cooler she opted for one of those rather than a cup. Bottles were easier to carry around after all. Taking periodic sips she stood watching her friends dancing and having fun. She smiled and laughed at their antics – Reid and Tyler because they were hilarious & Pogue and Caleb because it looked like they were majorly crushing on their dance partners. That last part made her heart pang for some unknown reason. Brushing away the feeling she laughed when Reid demonstrated an obnoxious dance move.

Too busy giggling she didn't notice a menacing male presence standing next to her. The sudden hand grab brought her back to full attention. Startled she looked up at him, him being Aaron of course.

"Hey beautiful. What are you doing over here all by yourself?" The question was harmless enough and if anyone else had said it she would've taken it for what it was – a question. But this was Aaron she was dealing with so it paid to be careful. Plus the boys hated him with a passion so if they saw her with him it would definitely cause a scene.

She answered uncomfortably. "Oh, you know, just standing here with my drink."

He laughed at her. "The boys must have a tight leash on you if they won't let you even drink for real."

"Oh," she stammered. "It's not them, it's me. I'm a dancer and let's just say drinking isn't worth it if I get caught." He looked at her curiously with his head slightly cocked.

"I didn't know that you danced."

Suddenly his eyes showed troublesome intent in their depths as he smirked. It reminded her of a snake getting ready to strike. Grabbing her hand he pushed through the crowd until they were in the middle of all the dancing. Despite her struggles he tugged her back to his front and began to move against her. Going completely still she frantically looked for her friends hoping they would come to her rescue. As a witch she could always use magic but only as a last resort lest someone see her use.

Aaron stopped grinding for a second to lean down to her ear. "Come on Danika, dance." Seeing that she was still hesitant he tried a different approach. "Please," he murmured. "I thought you said that you danced."

Frustrated she finally spoke her mind. "Yeah, I meant that I do ballet, I most certainly did not mean that I dance with people that are rude to my friends." Her tirade done she looked up at him and almost wished that she hadn't.

His famous anger had made an appearance at last, his eyes smoldering. Digging his fingers into her sides until she whimpered, he licked his lips before speaking. "Now listen here, Evans," he hissed. "I was only trying to be nice so humor me and _dance_."

"Aaron," growled a familiar voice, "Let her go you asshole!"

Danika looked up thankful to see Reid and Tyler coming her way. The boys strode over with Reid leading the way. He and Aaron had a stare down so intense that she was surprised that they didn't start fist fighting. It was no secret that the boys didn't like Aaron but Reid downright hated him. One of them would usually crack a smart remark that resulted in an all out brawl between the two of them. Not to mention that Reid hadn't used yet; this was shocking because he was the most trigger happy in their group.

"Well if it isn't my favorite boy band. What, you guys jealous that I grabbed your girlfriend?" Her jaw dropped as Reid growled in rage.

He stepped forward to get in Aaron's face and she waited for the inevitable first punch. But it never came as Tyler held Reid back. It was obvious by the loon his face that he wanted nothing more than to pummel the cocky jock. Instead he took the more mature route and said nothing, which honestly surprised her. Reid wasn't exactly known for playing nice. And to add on to that, Aarons posy which consisted of two other ignorant jocks looked like they were going to get involved. Danika sighed in exasperation. _Great._

Crossing their arms over their chests, they stood behind Aaron in a menacing pose. "There isn't a problem here, is there," questioned one of the new comers.

A deep voice answered back. "No there's not."

She looked back & saw Caleb and Pogue had also joined the fray. With the new additions the other group started to look nervous, even Aaron.

"Whatever man, just keep your boy in check." Despite the death glares he received from the boys he still came up to Danika. Shocked beyond belief she couldn't move as he bent to kiss her cheek. "See you later Dani," he whispered before walking away with his group.

"What the hell man!" shouted Reid. "Dani? He can't call you that, only we're allowed!" Tyler talked him down as the blond continued to grumble.

Caleb walked up to her. "Are you okay?"

She put up her brave smile. "I'm fine, promise."

_Hopefully. I think_.


	3. Chapter 3

The showdown with Aaron quickly forgotten, everyone went back to their care free fun. After much harassment from the Sons, even Danika found her way to the dance floor. She started out with the girls but her attention was quickly taken by the boys. Letting go of her original shyness she was soon grinding against Reid and Tyler, swaying with Caleb and Pogue. She knew she would eventually have to go home, return to her real life, but for now she couldn't bring herself to care.

The laughter and dance continued for some time but suddenly came to a halt. A younger student from Spencer interrupted the DJ, out of breath. "Guys, we have multiple cop sightings not too far from here. They're gonna be here any minute!"

The crowd went into a frenzy as everyone rushed to put out the fires and take down the music equipment. All around her people were scrambling into the woods to get to their cars before the police came. Somewhere in all the madness Danika managed to get separated from Kate and Sarah. _Aka my ride home_. Panicked, she ran in the direction that Kate had parked her car. In disbelief she couldn't believe it when the parking spot was empty. _They had actually left her!_ It was official–if she was arrested he would kill her. As a warlock it was fully within his range of powers.

While she was contemplating her punishment she didn't notice the oversize black Hummer pull up besides her. Reid sat in the driver's seat as he rolled down the window. "Hey," he shouted. Danika looked over her shoulder in surprise. "Need a ride?" She smiled and turns toward the Hummer, relieved. No matter how much she loved her friends at school there was no replacement for the bond between the covenant families. Seeing Tyler and Reid up front she hopped in back between Caleb and Pogue.

"Long time no see," joked Pogue. "Oh, shut up." Grinning she shoved his leather clad shoulder. Everyone grew silent when they heard approaching cop car sirens. "Busted," she whispered dejectedly. Tyler looked at her through the rear view mirror reassuringly. "Don't worry Dani, it's not over yet."

Reid wrapped his arm around Tyler's head rest as he looked back. "Not until the fat lady sings," he finished for Tyler. She looked over at Caleb surprised that he wasn't objecting to their plan. Usually he would be yelling at them, calling them all nuts right about now.

"And Caleb," she asked, "you're actually okay with this?" He smiled at her. "We all need a little fun once in a while." Suspicious she kept pestering him. "Normally I would agree but this is _you_ we're talking about, Caleb."

On her left Pogue burst out laughing. He leaned over to look at Caleb. "She knows you too well bro."

"Shut up, Pogue."

While they argued the ominous sound of police sirens grew closer. Desperate, Danika tried reasoning with them. "Come on, guys. If we're gonna go we have to do it now. They'll be here any minute and if we get caught my dad will freak." Everyone quieted down and looked at Caleb, waiting for his direction. As the oldest in the group he was their unofficial leader. Finally he spoke.

"Cut across Marblehead," he told Reid, pointing his finger in that direction. "We can toy with them before losing them at the falls."

"Aye aye, sir," said Reid with a mock salute of his middle finger. While he threw the Hummer in reverse Pogue tapped knuckles with Caleb. "That's brilliant, man."

Danika had to agree. This was a side of the older boy that he rarely showed. Weaving in between the trees her adrenaline started to pump when she saw the cop car drive up next to them. Seeing this Reid started going faster expertly dodging the trees that seemed to pop up at random. Fed up with the prolonged chase Pogue kicked the driver's seat. "Come on, man. Quit dicking around and ditch them."

"Okay, okay. Seesh."

Sharply veering to the left they head towards the falls. In the process Danika's head accidently slid onto Caleb's chest from the force of the sudden turn. Blushing like crazy, she rushed to apologize as she sat back up.

"Hey Dani, it was an accident. No big deal," he reassured her with a dazzling smile.

For some reason, that feeling from earlier at the party came back. _Weird._ At that moment the Hummer broke the tree line and they were there. They all laughed when the car went airborne for a few seconds after going off a small drop off. It hit the ground at their previous speed causing the passengers to jerk in their seats. The boys whopped in excitement when they saw the cliff straight ahead. She just laughed knowing what would happen next. Reid pressed the gas pedal as far as it would go. Behind them the cops started honking at them.

Danika looked over at Caleb. Even though he was the one who had thought of this she knew he was still reluctant to use his powers. Seeing her looking at him, he quickly masked his nervousness. She squeezed his hand in reassurance. On her other side Pogue grabbed her hand as well, smiling down at her.

One by one their eyes turned solid black and at last the Hummer went over, Reid shouting in typical fashion. "Harry Potter can kiss my ass!"

The cop car skidded to a halt after the Hummer disappeared. They quickly got out and ran to the side of the cliff. They shined their flash lights down into the dark but were unable to see anything. Everything was silent as the lighthouse beacon shone in their direction.

A low pitched noise, barely detectable, started and slowly grew louder with each passing second. Suddenly there was a loud boom as the vehicle landed right the police. In shock they stood there with their mouths wide open.

Everyone in the Hummer was laughing as Reid flipped them off before reversing and driving off. "That was freaking awesome!" exclaimed Tyler. Reid turned back to look at Danika. "Does home sound good?"

"That would be great, if you don't mind." Nodding he drove out of the forest and got back on the main road. For the most part everyone was pretty quiet besides the occasional exchange between Reid and Tyler up front. Tired, Danika closed her eyes and rested her head on the seat. When opened them back up the Hummer was pulled in front of her house.

She climbed over Pogue and got out of the car. Turning around she told them," Thanks my dad would've freaked."

"It's no problem," reassured Tyler, whose vehicle had been used for the night's quick getaway.

"See you tomorrow, guys."

"Goodnight, Dani," they all said in unison.

Closing the door behind her she walked up her drive way as the boys drove off. She tried to be as quite as possible hoping her parents wouldn't notice her late return. Of course, luck wasn't on her side. "Danika," called out her father. Cringing she walked into the living room. Talking a deep breath she spoke in her defense. "I'm sorry dad but it went later than I thought and then the boy ended up giving me a ride-"

Her dad merely chuckled. "I'm not mad at you Dani. I was your age once so I'm glad you had fun. I just wanted to tell you goodnight. Is that too much to ask as a father?"

She rolled her eyes and went to give him a hug. He gave the top of her head a small peck. "Night sweetie, see you in the morning." Letting go of him she ran up the stairs to get ready for bed. Changed into her pajamas she turned out the light and got under the bed covers. Luckily she was able to fall asleep pretty quickly since she had school the next day.

_I hope the guys made it home okay._

X-X-X-X-X-X

Three police officers stood at the cliff, peering over its rocky edges. "I swear chief, it looked to me like they wentright over the damn cliffs." The older distinguished looking officer rolled his eyes sighed.

"What you probably saw was the lighthouse lights."

The two deputies gave each other a nervous look. "Sir, if you would have seen it–"

A call from the dispatch radio distracted the chief. Walking over he pulled the device through the window of his police cruiser. "Sir," the person on the other end of the line spoke nervously, "We found a car parked by the clearing. We think you need to check it out."

Telling the two officers from before to head back to the station he drove to the location of the parked car. When he got there he could see a few other officers already gathered around it. "What are you doing just standing there? Wake to the kid up all ready."

Strolling up the driver's window he tapped it with his flash light. No response. Confused he tried to shine it through the glass but it was too foggy to see anything. As a last resort he broke the window open with the butt of his flash light.

"Come on kid," he started. "Time to wake up."Shaking him he let out a sound of disgust when the still body rolled out of the car and onto the ground with no reaction. Looking grim he addressed to panicked looking officers near him.

"Someone call it in; we got a dead kid at the dells."


	4. Chapter 4

It was a fruitless night of sleep for Danika. She would just reach blessed slumber when anxiety of a faceless terror would leave her in a cold sweat. No matter how hard she thought back she could never remember what plagued her in her nightmares. Around three a. m. though sheer exhaustion finally took her, breaking the spell of evasive sleep. Unfortunately for her the alarm clock next to her bed went off only hours later in order to wake her up for school.

Grogginess still weighing on her mind and body, she trudged around getting ready in a zombie-like state. Bed. Shower. Clothes. Hair. As she went through her morning routine she got the distinct feeling that she was forgetting something. Something important. She tried her best to remember as she moved throughout her room. Darn it, what was she forgetting?

"Danika Lynn!" shouted her mother from downstairs. "You'd best get down here and have breakfast if you want to eat before Caleb gets here!"

Oh yeah, now she remembered. Food. Grabbing her bag, she shut her door and walked downstairs. Immediately the aroma of hot oatmeal, sweet cinnamon rolls, and fresh cut fruit drifted to her nose making he perk right up. She was greeted by the sight of her mother, stirring the pot of presumed oatmeal.

"Here honey, I've already made you a plate to save time."

She gave her mom a kiss on the cheek before taking the delicious food to the table. This was one of the benefits of having a mother who was a formerly celebrated chef. Even though the family had more than enough money to pay for a cooking staff, her mother always preferred to prepare meals herself. Danika had no qualms about this since the food was to die for.

Looking at the dining room clock she saw it was a quarter to seven and started eating faster. Caleb would be here soon and she didn't want to keep him waiting. The breakfast meal went a long way in waking her up but she was still reminded of why she was in bed by ten o'clock most nights. She was exhausted! She just hoped she would be able to make it through all of her classes today.

In no time at all Caleb was being admitted inside the house by her father, who was on his way to work. "Come in my boy, come in. Dani should be ready in a second. Dani!" he called. "Have a good day at school."

She rolled her eyes. "See you later dad."

Eating the last piece of strawberry, she gave her mom a hug before pulling Caleb out the front door. She placed her bag by her feet as she sat shot gun.

"Sorry about that," she laughed awkwardly. "I love my parents but I know the can be a little..."

He looked over from driving with a small amount o sadness I him. "Don't apologize for it. You're lucky to have them both."

Well didn't that make her feel five inches tall. "They mean well, which is why I try not to complain about it so much, but sometimes I feel a little smothered. But I also know how you feel about it so I'm sorry for bringing it up."

He smiled in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. "I've had time to come to terms with it. We all have."

Make that an inch tall. Besides hers the rest of the covenant families were all broken in some way. As kids she remembered they were always clamoring to come over to her house, either to get away from their own or to get a sense of peace. Knowing she really had nothing to complain about compared to them, she tried not to talk about her parents. It appeared her mouth got the better of her this morning. Dropping the topic they settled into comfortable silence.

She leaned her head against the cool morning window and watched the trees blur by. Hopefully today wasn't going to set the precedence for the rest of her year. She wanted to know how Caleb looked so refined when he couldn't have gotten much sleep either. Wait. Sleep...the nightmare last night... maybe Caleb could help explain it to her. Usually when one of them felt or sensed something beyond the human realm, they all did. That woke her up all right.

"So, Caleb, how was your night last night?"

"Well, you would know, you were with me for most of it," he teased.

"No, you dummy," she said, mock punching his shoulder. "I meant how you slept. I kept having the same nightmare only to forget it as soon as I woke up each time."

"Nightmare," he said seriously.

"Yeah, did you have any last night or was I just overtired?"

His brow furrowed in thought. "Not that I can remember," he finally said, "But you've always been more sensitive to the psychic side of things than the rest of us."

She slumped in her chair. It was nothing then. If she could actually remember what was in the dream because she had a bad feeling about it in her gut. Caleb's cell started going off, the ring muffled by his pants pocket.

He checked the caller and said, "It's Pogue, I gotta take this." Hitting the accept button, he put the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

Knowing how it was she turned back to the window. There may have been five children of Ipswitch but there were most definitely cliques within the group. Everyone knew Reid and Tyler were best buds and that Caleb and Pogue were like brothers. As the only girl she seemed to be the exception to this and hung around with whatever group depending on her mood.

There she was, on her way to school, blocking out Caleb's call when she felt an evil presence. On alert she made sure to only move her eyes not her whole head. She became frustrated when she couldn't find it. Darn it, she could sense it, so where in the heck was it? Looking at the mirror she had a sneaking suspicion. Taking a chance she sat up a little to look in the back seat via the rear view mirror. Sure enough there as a darkling in the back seat. Seeing it in Caleb's car brought back memories from last night and instinctively knew this is what had been keeping her up. A shiver of terror leeched through her body as the darkling turned to look at her. Its pale, unseeing eyes and slightly rotting body matched everything they had been taught as children about the vengeful spirits.

"Uh, Caleb," she whispered.

He looked confused until he saw where she was looking. "Oh, Jesus!"

The darkling started wailing as it pushed into the front seat but it just as suddenly disappeared. Danika made a noise of relief. _That was close._

"Hold on tight, Dani," instructed Caleb.

Looking out the windshield it seemed their troubles weren't over yet.

Her screams were swallowed in the screeching of metal on metal as the Mustang collided head on with a logging truck. Being the smaller vehicle the Mustang splintered into a hundred pieces and Danika could feel the wind whipping against her face. For a split second she saw Caleb's eyes go black. Good because if she didn't make it out of this alive she was totally coming back to haunt him!

As fast as the car splintered apart, it came back together with both passengers safe and sound. Caleb stomped on the breaks and she braced herself with her hands when the car careened to a stop. She was panting out of control as Caleb yanke his seat belt off, checking her over for injuries.

"Are you okay?" he asked, panicking. Body shaking, she managed to nod. "Thank God," he exclaimed drawing her into a hug.

She didn't know what to be more shocked about, the car crash or Caleb hugging her. He wasn't one for showing signs of affections very often. Now that he was...she founded that she liked it. She frowned. Where had that thought come from? Pulling back, he smiled at her, relieved.

"Caleb! Caleb are you there? What's going on!" Somewhere in the front of the car Pogue was still shouting through the phone. Reaching under the seat Caleb spoke into it. "I'm fine," he replied.

"What about Dani?"

"I'm fine Pogue," she called out.

"Glad to hear it," he answered. "So what happened?"

"We saw a darkling."

"What?"

"Yeah, I know. Look we'll see you at school, man. We can explain to everyone later."

"Sounds good."

Hanging up, he glanced over at her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded.

"Good." Putting the car back into drive he pulled back into the lane. "Now let's get to school."

Speeding off they headed to Spencer where she sincerely hoped a normal day was waiting for her. She didn't think she could handle anymore surprises.


	5. Chapter 5

**SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED RECENTLY! I've been working on other stuff lately but wrote this chapter earlier today. Hope you guys like it. Leave a review to let me know if your still alive!**

Despite the earlier incident, Danika and Caleb made it to school without any other event. The first bell rang as Caleb was parking the Mustang. Grabbing their stuff they ran inside the academy building, pausing for a brief hug.

"I have to run errands for my mom later, so get a ride from one of the other guys."

"Sure thing," she called over her shoulder as she raced the bell. Thankfully she made it to first period with a minute to spare. Not seeing any familiar faces among the rows of kids she quickly snagged one of the empty seats up front. She liked being up by the teacher. It made it easier to listen, to see. For most people sitting up front was the worst but it was always the first choice for Dani. Knowing this, she was extremely surprised to see another student sit in the desk next to hers.

The boy was tall, good-looking with brown hair and blue eyes. A good combination in her opinion. Placing his books on top of the desk he turned and stuck his hand out towards her. "Chase."

"Hi, Danika Evans."

Not saying anymore he nodded and sat when the teacher began class. She looked over at him and blushed when he caught her looking. He merely grinned before facing forward. At least he was graceful about it. The rest of the period went by relatively fast and before she knew it, it was over. Bending over to put her notes in her backpack, a pair of black tennis shoes entered her line of vision.

"Here, let me help you."

Looking up she saw it was Chase. He lifted up her bag and when she was ready he helped her put it on.

"Thanks," she said. "You didn't have to do that."

"No, it's fine," he assured. "I'm new to Spencer so it never hurts to make a good impression."

"Yeah, I can tell." Everyone that went to Spencer knew that they had to meet the approval of the Sons of Ipswitch before approaching her.

"Really? What gave it away?"

"Oh nothing," she lied. "I've never seen around before, that's all." Jeez it's not like she was gonna tell him the truth. She liked that he was brave enough to talk to her, she didn't want to scare him away.

'What class do you have next," he asked as they shouldered their way through the crowed halls. She pointed to a lecture hall on her right.

"I have advanced literature."

Chase scrambled to straighten out his schedule. He scrolled through the paper with his finger, tapping a certain spot. "I have that too."

Excited that there would be one person that she knew in her second period, they walked in together. Once again they chose a spot up front. Moving to pull out a pen, she froze when she heard two familiar voices. She was happily surprised to see two of her friends: Kate and Sarah. She quickly waved them over.

"Come sit by us."

The girls came and sat behind them, the next row up.

"What wrong with sitting up front," asked Danika.

Kate rolled her brown eyes. "Just because you like it, doesn't mean the rest of us have to like it." Sarah laughed while Dani shrugged it off.

"I don't mind sitting up front." At the sound of Chase's voice the two recent additions started as if just noticing him.

"Who's this?"

"Chase," he introduced. "I'm new starting this year."

"I can see that," said Kate, speculation heavy in her gaze. "How long have you known Dani?"

"One whole class period."

"Hmm... wanna hang out later?"

"Kate," admonished Danika.

"Calm down, we'd all go as a group obviously." It sounded all right but Danika knew how her friend was. Even the most innocent suggestions somehow turned into a scheme of some sort.

"Besides," continued Kate. "It might serve to make the boys jealous."

"The boys?" said Chase with intrigue.

And there was the real reason for hanging out, thought Danika. Since forever ago, Kate had been convinced that the feelings the boys had for her were of a romantic nature. With that in mind she was always trying to set up Dani up with other guys in hopes that it would get the boys to reveal their 'inner feelings.' Feelings that Dani knew stemmed only from friendship. They had grown up together and she knew that they could be a little overprotective when she met someone new.

Katie opened her mouth to answer Chase when the grey-haired lit teacher with glass an inch thick began talking, preventing her from speaking.

"After school, whispered Sarah. "My car, we can figure it out from there."

Everyone agreed before turning their attention forward.

* * *

At four o'clock , right after the last bell rang, Dani hurried out to the parking lot to meet up with the others. To her surprise she was the last one there.

"How did you get here so fat," she huffed.

Chase was the one to answer her. "Turns out we has the last together and it was right by the door."

Curse them and their conveniently located classroom. Not wasting anymore time they piled in, Sarah in the driver's seat. It _was_ her car after all.

"So where are we headed," she asked as the silver Toyota pulled out onto the main road.

"I need to pick some stuff up for the room." Kate glanced back at Dani and Chase. "Do you mind if we stop by the drug store first? Then we could catch a movie or something."

It sounded good to Dani and she nodded along with Chase. One of her favorite things about Ipswitch was its downtown. A little on the small side, she adored its quaint charm and familiarity. Typical of most New England towns, it had several locally owned shops scattered all around, a gothic style church at its center. It even featured a dock with severally owned fishing boats. It was beautiful in her opinion especially with the colored autumn leaves beginning to drop. The drug shop was on the outskirts of the clusters of buildings and was well-known for having a friendly atmosphere and helpful employees. Sarah pulled the car around and let them out by the door.

"Go ahead, I'm going to try to find a parking spot."

Ah, the bane of small town set ups: little to no parking. Not arguing they all took off.

"Okay, just hang out for a few. I need some detergent from the back," said Kate.

Letting her get her shopping done, Chase and Dani wandered over to a sunglasses rack. On impulse Chase grabbed a pair and tried them on. "What do you think?"

"Not bad," she admitted. "Not as awesome as this though," she retorted, putting on a pair with purple lenses. Spurred on by the challenge they both knocked elbows, trying to one up each other. The display completely depleted, they leaned against one another, laughing.

"Dani?"

Hearing the deep male voice, she stepped away from Chase. Caleb was standing there holding a bag of medication, presumably for his dad,and he didn't look happy.

"Hi," she said in a small voice.

"Who's this," he said, still not backing down. But Chase stepped up and introduced himself. Sarah walked in then, adding to the tension.

"Hi Caleb," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. Sarah had a crush on Caleb. Had had one ever since she met him the night of the bonfire. Normally it would really bother Danika, but for now she was relieved for the distraction.

"Hey Caleb, as long as we're here, why don't you bring Sarah to meet your father?"

Sarah jumped at the opportunity. "I would love that."

Caleb gave Dani the evil eye before leading Sarah outside. "We'll talk later Dani," he called over his shoulder.

Oh no, she knew that tone. It meant that she was getting an earful later. And, seeing that it was Caleb, she wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the Sons knew within the hour.

_Crap. _


End file.
